Cob Course - Sponsorship needed

I need some help and if there is anybody out there reading this who feels they can I would be extremely grateful.

Background:

I have become very interested in building with cob (mud and straw). Many of the houses here in the village were built this way and the materials are readily available for free. Last summer we experimented with mud-plastering the entrance and the results were very successful. This year we hope to recontruct the falling-down summer kitchen using mainly cob, introducing decoratative features with glass bottles, tile mosaics, etc.. I am also in the middle of replastering a small room in the house, again planning to incorporate decorative features (inspired by Maurice Sendak's "Where the Wild Things Are" - I want to make 3-D tree trunks and branches in the corners with a textured leaf canopy effect near the ceiling). Until now my only real experience with working with mud has been the trial-and-error, hit-and-miss approach ... and while this has served me well so far I would really like to learn more about it from someone who has more experience. I have just been told that a two-day course will be taking place not too far from here at the end of June and I would really like to attend.

The help I need:

The course costs 100 leva (50 euro) and since our current budget barely covers our living expenses I am looking for a possible sponsor who could donate this amount on our behalf to the course organisers. I would be more than willing to repay the favor in the future by sharing my new skills and knowledge or volunteering with some mud-related work.

If anyone feels they can help I would be very happy to hear from you:

lielle8 (at) yahoo (dot) co (dot) uk

The Garden - Week One

Fired up with enthusiasm after attending the Permaculture Garden Course at Shipka I have spent this first week back in Voditsa thinking and planning and trying to implement as many ideas as possible. As I mentioned in a previous post, back in March I had planted garlic, onions and leeks but during the following 6 weeks when we were in Israel most of it became obscured by a lush growth of weeds. Did I say weeds?! It turned out that quite a lot of it was deliciously tender sorrel which was enjoyed as salad greens or cooked with rice and lentils. Instead of getting rid of all the weeds I cut them down and used them as a mulch on the pathways between the beds which is helping to keep them clear of mud and further growth. I have noticed that a lot of wild hemp has sprung up in various parts of the garden- interestingly it is mostly where we had bonfires in the past or where I used to chuck out the ashes from the petchka and empty the chamber pot. By clearing the vegetable beds a little room has been made for new seeds: various flowers, tomatoes and radishes... and more tomatoes, peppers and aubergines have been sown in my mini makeshift greenhouse erected out of old window frames and panes of glass on the south-facing outside staircase. Our strawberry plants are in flower, and so too are the beautiful lilac bush and the apple tree. Bees are buzzing around and blue tits, jays and swallows pay regular visits. Spring is definitely in the air!

Swallows, Storks, Martenitsi

A noticable sign of spring is the return of the swallows to the village where they build their gravity-defying nests of mud. The storks are also back and the fruit blossoms are snowing down their petals in the breeze. During the month of April, while we were in Israel, here in Bulgaria the martenitsi were taken off wrists and tied to tree branches in this beautiful custom of friendship and renewal. Here's a particularly impressive example that we came across in the centre of Veliko Turnovo.

Back in Voditsa

The 'all-can-do' petchka (wood-stove) is warming the home, water is on the boil, fresh pancakes are ready to be served.... Outside a light rain and the sound of woodpeckers, cuckoos and cockerels... This is our first morning back in Voditsa!

This time we detoured via Shipka where we spent an amazing few days with an inspiring group of people at Permaship's Permaculture Gardening Course. I shall write more about that later as I came away fired up with ideas that I can't wait to put into practice.

We have already got stuck into a few jobs: cleared away some of the lush wild growth in the garden to discover the garlic, onions and leeks pushing their way up below; helped a neighbour with mud-plastering the inner walls of their barn (and prepared a wall in our own home for replastering). And, no less important, have sat around looking, observing, thinking...

Winter Activities in Voditsa

Although we were not in the village for most of the winter it was fascinating to observe the preparations for this slow-down season when the weather very clearly dictates what can and can't be done.

The year-round sameness that we have grown accustomed to in our ordinary, other lives has alienated us from our connection to mother earth: we have become used to working in temperature-controlled conditions; to the constant availability of most food-stuffs quite unrelated to their natural seasonality; to always rushing around (and ironically feeling we have not achieved enough) instead of taking our cue from nature's patterns of light and dark, warmth and cold, to slow down...

The Bulgarian winter, for those who live in rural areas, dictates a rest from the intensive labor on the land; a diet of warm and comforting soups and stews; a time to spend indoors with friends and neighbors; a time to enjoy creativity. Amongst the many traditional crafts practised in the village during the winter months is the weaving of corn mats from the outer husks of the maize picked at the end of the summer. We were lucky enough to be invited to one of the villager's homes to see a demonstration of how this is done.

Where have we been ??*#@!!

People have been asking where we disappeared to these last few (six) months since our last post! Our 'living the alternatives' project took on a different character when we left Bulgaria in mid November to spend the winter months with family in UK. Our experiences there were more personal in nature and seemed at the time to be less relevant to the theme of this blog. In retrospect, we learnt a lot during our stay there and experienced many things worth sharing, so the plan is to do a little back-tracking and blitz-blogging to update and fill in some of the gaps over the coming weeks.

Other elements of our original plan changed a little too along the way, bringing us unexpectedly back to Israel recently for a family wedding. This has forced us to face prematurely some of the dilemmas and challenges that we knew would be waiting for us at the end of our year-long experience (making a living, education, where to live, how to combine all our goals and ideals with real life, etc). All this stuff, the good with the not so good, has been taken on board and is, as I write this, being processed.

The essence of this whole year so far has been about finding balance in our lives. We are learning that things happen and plans change. Sometimes unexpected changes are for the good and the new direction needs to be embraced; being flexible and knowing how to 'go with the flow' can be admirable traits. However, some changes can be confusing, distracting us from our original goals and a critical eye is needed to evaluate the new situation. Finding that balance between knowing that everything happens for a reason, and directing and taking responsibility for our own destiny has been a big central theme for me these last few months.

Anyhow, it's back to Bulgaria next week for the last few months of our year-long project and hopefully there'll be plenty to write home about! We kick-off with a 4-day permaculture gardening course with the Permaship folk of Shipka then it's back to the village of Voditsa to get our own garden looking ship-shape. We're looking forward to resuming regular arts & crafts sessions in our home with the local children; revamping the summer kitchen; mud-plastering walls; creating story-telling spaces and dens .... our resources of time, money and volunteer helpers will shape what actually ends up happening and it's all very exciting. If anyone reading this feels a connection to the spirit of our project and is interested in coming along for a few days or a week or two to help out - be sure to get in touch.

"Orichi...Orichi."..Sounds, Smells and Sights of Autumn

At first the van driving around the village with it's loudspeaker blaring: "Orichi, Orichi..." sounded vaguely familiar. It reminded me of the 'alte sachen' truck that comes around back home in Israel - a kind of 'rag and bone man' who collects old things to be resold such as old furniture, fridges, etc... But this was a much smaller vehicle and I was curious to know what it was they were selling or buying.

'Orichi' means walnuts in Bulgarian, and these were walnut traders. They come in to the village mostly to buy walnuts that people have collected by the sack. Some people have large walnut trees on their property, but many others take to the woods that surround the village and rummage among the leaves for fallen nuts. You can easily spot the people who out walnut hunting. They carry long sticks and bags and if you look closely most of them have black-stained hands which is what happens to you when you peel off the outer green husk that encloses the nut inside. These nuts are stored in a dry place for several months after which they are good for eating and keep well.

A neighbour told me a story of something that happened last year. One old gentleman had saved up several bags of walnuts hoping to sell them to give him a little extra income. The traders asked him how many bags he had and he told them - five. They agreed to buy them all and he went into his storeroom to bring them out one by one. As he disappeared inside to bring out the last bag the traders zoomed off taking the other four bags with them...Although the villagers laugh when they retell the story it seems rather sad to me, but fortunately our own experiences here over these past few months have only been good and and don't in any way reflect that kind of heartlessness - on the contrary we have only met true generosity and kindness.

The autumn here has been glorious. Although the temperatures have gone down a lot recently there is a stillness in the air that makes it bracing and refreshing, rather than the bitter cold that can really get you down when accompanied by wind. People are lighting up their wood fires and that leaves a smoky smell in the air that reminds me a lot of the autumns of my youth when most people in the UK still had coal fires rather than central heating. Indoors here it's toasty warm and it's great to see how multi-purpose the 'petchka' is - providing us with heat, a place to cook, warm our water and dry our clothes.

The last of the summer vegetables are being enjoyed fresh or are being bottled for the winter. People are covering their remaining tomatoes against the rain and cold so they don't spoil before ripening, and others to be on the safe side are picking them green for frying or making into preserves and chutneys. In our little garden we still have some peppers, leeks, parsley, tomatoes and courgettes. Although nowhere near enough to provide all our vegetable needs it has been great to have had a constant supply of food from the garden to supplement almost every meal.

Here is a short video - a compilation of various photos taken while out with Lielle recently (we go out a lot with her lately now that she has learnt to ride her bike!) - simple views of the village in glorious autumn technicolor with Baba singing in the background. Enjoy!